{ Stories about Missourians }

The very best thing about having a part-time data entry job is all the podcasts I get to listen to. How do people in repetitive jobs get by without them? I go to work for about four hours each afternoon and minus the interaction with coworkers (another bonus, because they’re great people and probably healthier to talk to than the plants in my home office), that gives me at least enough time to go through one or two Longform podcasts, catch up with Story Collider, and enjoy One Species at a Time, if it would ever update on iTunes. I think of it as professional development.

In the last couple of weeks, great stories about Missourians have popped into my earbuds. Yes!! Here’s a sample, but if you’ve heard others, I’d love to give them a listen.

{ A CURIOUS CASE }“Except for that One Thing” – WBEZ’s This American LifeA St. Louis man is being held in prison for a crime he committed decades ago. He never served time because nobody called him for a it. Clerical error. A lot to thing about in regards to the justice system. The Riverfront Times follows up here.

{ MURDERERS, FIDDLERS, ETC. }“Ozarks: Full Circle” – State of the Re:Union
More prison, a few more happy endings, and a lot of fiddles. This is an old one because, 20 hours a week affords the luxury of archived shows. I’m really happy my radio friend Abigail introduced me to this podcast because it’s everything I love about storytelling. This particular show paints the Ozarks with the same simple brush I referenced in my last post, but it’s focused on love, redemption, and tight-knit communities. If an outsider’s going to come tell our story, this is a good crew to do it.

{ OUR FAVORITE UKRANIAN } “Yakov Smirnoff” – WTF with Marc Maron
Another oldie, and not exactly a Missourian. Yakov‘s been hanging out in Branson since 1993, after his, “What a country!” hook crumbled with the Berlin Wall, and I’ve grown up watching his commercials, so I’m claiming him. I love how deep Marc Maron gets with all his guests, and this is no exception. Did you know Mr. Smirnoff’s branching into positive psychology? He teaches a class at MSU. I also learned a lot about Soviet Russia, like that there existed an actual “Ministry of Jokes.” WTF indeed.

So, now you know a little more about me. What are you listening to? And where are all the good Midwest and journalism stories? My greatest fear is that I’ll run out of Longform episodes, which is feasible if I listened to it straight for a month. So seriously, please comment!